This is the first mushroom cast that I'm posting a video for. This is the tenth one I've done. The others turned out great too but weren't cast quite as well as this one. I'm still perfecting the method with a lot of trial and error. When I first saw this one growing I knew I had to get it right this time because it looked so awesome.

There was a little decay on the back of the mushroom which was starting to split. It split more during the plaster casting and you can see the result of that on the back of the finished cast. The plaster cast developed thin cracks while cleaning out the mushroom remnants. I put tape around the plaster cast to keep it from breaking open during casting but it wasn't cracked enough that it was coming apart. A small amount of aluminum did flow into the crack near the top, which I later I grinded off.

The actual mushroom pictures were taken between 30 minutes to an hour before the plaster was poured, which is why the cap of the final cast is more open than the actual mushroom is in the pictures.

The detail captured is amazing and more than I ever expected to get using this method. The raised warts all over the cap, the gills under the cap, and even part of the ring on the stem (remnants of the thin veil that initially covers the gills) were all cast fairly well.

Base Description

The base is 3" in diameter and made of purpleheart with a 7/8" strip of yellowheart in the center and finished with gloss lacquer. The color of the wood is supposed to fade over time and accelerated by UV exposure but I haven't noticed any change over many months.